IEC to hold e-Voting conference to explore prospect of going digital

Could South Africa be set to enter the era of electronic voting? Well the prospect of such a possibility is exactly what the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) is hoping to explore at its three-day conference in Cape Town.

Monday will see the start of the conference, running until 12 March 2025, on the prospect of electronic voting (e-Voting) in South African elections. The IEC will hold the conference at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).

This conference will serve as a pivotal platform for initiating a public conversation about the possibility of introducing electronic voting sometime in the future.

The conference is based on research commissioned by the Commission and undertaken by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

The research study produced a discussion document, to be launched at the conference, which navigates all crucial aspects related to electronic voting and implications for South Africa. 

Some of the sessions set to take place at the conference will include an address and presentation by the IEC chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, and the IEC CEO, Sy Mamabolo. Mamabolo will be setting the scene on e-Voting in the country, and the considerations being taken.

Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber will also be in attendance for a keynote address.

The conference will bring together political parties, members of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, corporates in the ICT sphere, government officials, research and development institutions. Representatives of some countries which have implemented electronic voting are also confirmed for participation in this conference.

This includes Estonia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Namibia. The three-day conference will feature a variety of sessions, including presentation of a discussion document on four broad themes, and demonstrations of the latest advancements in e-Voting systems.

Each session will be anchored by a presentation of key research findings followed by a reply from respondents with knowledge on the relevant theme.

Some of the other sessions will be focused on forming the key components of the discussion documents, which include:

• Country review of electronic voting including those countries currently using poll-site technologies as well as those who use internet voting. This includes countries that introduced electronic voting but subsequently abandoned it.
• Key insights from the legislative review indicate that in the event electronic voting is adopted then there would a necessity for legislative amendments.
• Lessons from two roundtables, which were conducted with academics and representatives of blind persons.
• Lessons from key informant interviews that were conducted with civil society organisations and election management bodies.
• Views which were solicited through a public opinion survey.
• An overall outline of the findings of the studies conducted.

Mamabolo said the conference serves as a significant opportunity for South Africans to shape the future of voting in the digital world.

“It is part of the statutory purview of the Commission to conduct research with a view to improving the quality of elections. We must investigate new approaches to improve the electoral process, voter experience, accessibility, and enable cost savings.”

Mamabolo added that some of the research findings indicate that there is no common understanding of what e-voting entails.

“This conference aims not only to reflect on possibilities for implementing e-Voting but also to drive common understanding and knowledge of the subject among South Africans. We encourage further conversations and lively debates among South Africans from all walks of life as we have seen happening in some social media platforms recently,” Mamobolo said.

After the launch of the discussion document at the conference, it will be posted on the Electoral Commission's digital platforms.

theolin.tembo@inl.co.za